Never Again
by SquidPie96
Summary: They had trusted him. They didn't think he would go that far. But they were wrong, and they had payed for it dearly.
1. Chapter 1

**This will be a two-part story. The next chapter will be out soon, most likely before two weeks. I worked very hard on this chapter, and I hope it's long enough. Thank you for reading.**

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Xara frowned, crossing her arms. She looked toward her friend. "I—I just..."

Fred nodded. "It'll be fine. We're not going to _battle_ or anything. I just want to talk with him."

"Well..." Xara sighed. "Be careful. I'm not saying... that he _would_ do anything... but... be careful."

"Xara. I promise. I'll be careful. I'll come back to tell you how it went." And with that, Fred teleported away, heading towards the main tower where they knew Romeo would be.

As soon as he left, Xara instantly regretted not going with him. Who knows what Romeo would do? He'd been acting different for a few weeks now, and each day it seemed to get worse.

With two quick claps of her hands, Xara teleported after Fred.

* * *

When she arrived at the tower, Fred was already there talking to Romeo, who had his back to the two of them and was facing the window.

"Why are you doing this, Romeo?" Fred asked, his voice filled with sorrow. "Stop acting this way, please. We... we miss the old you." He reached out to set a hand on his friend's shoulder.

The warrior didn't even glance up as he shot an arm out to the side, summoning a large ball of raw energy in his hand that danced on his fingertips. It glowed bright red in sharp contrast to the dimly lit room.

Romeo threw the fiery ball of energy behind him, and it hit Fred right in his shoulder. The storyteller stumbled back a few paces before he seemed to regain his senses. He held his hands up in the universal gesture of surrender.

"I don't want to fight you," Fred began, warily inching closer. "But—"

He was cut off as a spear came hurtling towards his head. Ducking just in time, he avoided the weapon. Instead it pierced the wall behind him, striking a painting of the three Admins that fell to the ground, cracking as it hit the stone floor.

Fred shook his head, still refusing to fight. His normally placid face displayed fear, determined as he was not to show it. "Romeo, please! This isn't you!"

But before Fred could say anything else, an arrow came streaking through the air so fast he could barely see it. The steel tip embedded itself in his chest, and he staggered backwards, falling against the wall. He slid weakly to the ground, his face contorted in pain. Blood poured out from his wound.

Romeo came forward, holding a bow as dark as an enderman with flecks of gold by the arrow rest that caught the light. "You should know by now: _don't_ contradict me," he spoke in a deadly low voice.

Fred used every ounce of strength he could muster to lift his head, and looked Xara straight in her eyes. With his last dying breath, he whispered, "Take—take care of Binta and the tow—townspeople for me... goodbye, Xara, my friend." His eyes closed for the final time.

Romeo waved his hand and Fred's body vanished, turning into a million white bits in the air. Disappearing forever.

Xara stood back, leaning against the fireplace for support. She felt like her legs would give out any second, after what she'd just witnessed. Both hands covered her mouth, and her eyes were wide in a mixture of shock and horror at what she had just seen. "You—you just... you just killed him. You... shot him." Her fear turned to anger and her hands fell to her sides, tightly balled into fists. "You just _murdered_ him!"

"Because he was going to try to stop me!" Romeo shouted in response, taking a few threatening steps closer. The bow in his hand melted into an iron sword with a diamond-studded grip. The blade gleamed wickedly in the orange torchlight. "Are you going to do the same?" he snarled, his weapon at the ready. "Or are you willing to surrender, and rule the world with me?"

"I'd rather fight to the _death_ than join you!" Xara retorted. A diamond sword, glowing purple around the hilt, appeared in her hand.

A bit taken aback by her refusal to comply, Romeo raised an eyebrow. Quickly recovering, he asked with a smirk, "Well, now, shall we begin?" Without waiting for an answer he lunged forward, stabbing his weapon into the fireplace mantle her head had been in front of moments before.

Xara disappeared into a shower of sparks, teleporting a few feet away. She sheathed her sword and pulled out a bow and six arrows. Nocking several at a time, she released the string and fired, but all of them missed their target by half a millimeter.

Romeo concentrated, squeezing his eyes shut, and then a second later threw both arms in the air. The top of the tower exploded, the blast knocking her off her feet.

Pulling herself up, Xara grabbed her sword again and shot up into the sky. She turned around, only to find herself face-to-face with Romeo.

Their swords clashed, the sound resonating throughout the destroyed tower. "Why are you fighting against me?" he demanded through clenched teeth. "Why won't you take control of the world with me? You're supposed to be my friend!"

"You... killed... Fred!" she yelled back, each word a struggle as she fought the very person that had showed her many of the sword fighting techniques she was using now. "He was your friend too, yet you _murdered_ him without a second thought!"

Their swords pressed together, each of the wielders determined not to give even an inch to the enemy.

After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, Xara managed to get the upper hand by unexpectedly pulling her sword away, causing Romeo to stumble forward. She kicked him in the chest and he lost control of his powers for an instant. He dropped rapidly towards the earth, his sword wrenched out of his hand by the furious winds.

Just as he righted himself moments before crashing into the ground, Xara collided with him and they both slammed into the tower wall, their powers the only thing keeping them from falling one hundred and twenty stories down.

Through a haze of unchecked fury, she saw Romeo trying to summon another weapon. She pressed her forearm against his windpipe, cutting off all the airflow to his lungs. "Why?!" she shouted through the tears of rage running down her face. "Why did you kill him?!"

Romeo teleported away, gasping for breath. Xara glanced around wildly but didn't see where he ended up.

Then suddenly he shot up from the ground, holding two identical spheres of fire in his hands. The flames seemed to almost dance in the evening sun, and the smoke curled up into the air in a sort of mesmerizing way. Romeo threw them both at her so quickly she didn't have time to move out of the way. One hit her side, the other catching her shoulder.

Xara plummeted toward the ground, pain clouding her vision. The wind rushed by as she fell.

Less than thirty feet from hitting the earth, her powers clicked back into place and Xara was able to stop in midair. She hovered there for a moment, trying to calm herself and slow her breathing. Then she teleported the rest of the way down.

She appeared next to the base of the tower. It had used to look so beautiful... before Romeo destroyed it. Pieces of debris from the explosion were scattered here and there. Several places in the staircase had missing steps where rubble had landed and destroyed those parts.

She glanced cautiously, a bit unsettled. It was too quiet; Romeo wouldn't give up this easily.

Then she heard the telltale woosh of a sword being drawn from its sheath. On instinct she ducked, Romeo's weapon barely missing her head.

There was a flash of light and Romeo re-appeared in front of her. "I promise you, Xara, you'll regret this!" he yelled, slashing at her from all sides. It was all she could do to avoid each attack.

At one point, he made a move to cut right, leaving his left side undefended. Seeing an opening, Xara thrust her weapon forward without realizing that it had been a feint. She lost her balance and stumbled forward.

Seizing the opportunity, Romeo caught her offbalance and disarmed her easily. Her sword flew out of her hand and clattered on the cracked stone path. Xara found herself lying on her back, undefended, and pinned down by some invisible force he had summoned. Blood dripped from a cut on her cheek.

There was a deadly silence as the two glared at each other with what could only be described as undeniable hatred. Her chest heaved as she tried to steady her breathing. She narrowed her eyes at him.

Romeo stepped forward, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple. "Well," he observed quietly. "Look what this has come to. Betrayal, by someone I _thought_ to be one of my closest friends." He leaned toward her, pulling his sword out again. He studied the reflection of the crumbling tower in the shiny blade, using the sleeve of his armor to rub away a smudge of crimson on the edge.

Xara would have teleported away, but he had done something to that power and no matter how much she concentrated, nothing happened. Instead, she could only watch as he approached.

"I told you you'd regret it," Romeo said, an evil glint in his eyes. "But did you listen?" He stepped forward so he was right by her side, holding the wicked sharp point of his sword directly above her. The steel gleamed in anticipation of what was to come.

He positioned it right above her heart, the tip pressing into her chest, but not enough to draw blood yet. The slightest movement of his hand, though, the smallest flick of his wrist, and the blade would plunge straight into her heart.

But then Romeo hesitated.

"Going to kill me or not, _coward_?" she sneered. Their eyes locked once again. He could feel the penetrating hate pulsing from her defiant stare. "Go on. I dare you."

He took a breath, trying to keep his face in an emotionless mask. Why was he having second thoughts? Xara, like Fred had been, was now a danger to the empire he would soon create. She had to be killed.

Time seemed to stretch. He thought he could hear both of their pounding heartbeats. Just kill her, and you'll be done with it. It'll all be over. All he had to do was stab.

But he didn't.

He couldn't.

"No. I'm going to do something else." He chose his words carefully, as if that had been his plan all along. And now that he thought about it, this was a better arrangement after all. Xara would be out of the way, incapable of doing anything that could stop him, and he wouldn't even have to kill her.

She was suddenly seized by his powers and lifted into the air, hers still negated somehow. A white glowing light appeared beside her, pulsing with dark energy.

Throwing his arms out in front of him, Romeo navigated the glowing orb so it was almost touching her. Xara could feel the heat emanating from it and tried to move away, but it was a futile attempt. She screamed as the light enveloped her, pain coursing through her body. It hurt unlike anything else she could have possibly imagined. It was agonizing; in fact she was in so much torment she could barely form a thought.

Then it finally stopped. Xara fell to the ground and lay still, too weak to move. And although she couldn't tell exactly what, she could sense that something was different. And not in a good way, either.

Romeo hovered a few feet away, studying her as she lay there pitifully. She wanted to reach out and smack that annoyingly calm expression right off his face, but all her strength had drained away.

He clapped once and her clothes changed from her Admin armor to an orange jumpsuit with a white t-shirt underneath. Lifting her head, Xara could barely see what had happened but was still angry nonetheless. "Wh—what the _hell_ is this?"

"Like the new outfit?" Romeo replied smugly. "That's the uniform for the place you're going. Maybe there you'll finally learn how to not be a loser." He twirled the weapon in his hand as he spoke.

Then it dawned on her what had happened. "You—my—you took my... my powers. They're... gone..." Panic threatened to creep in but she pushed it away. "Why?"

"Why?" He scoffed. "You refused my offer, that's why! We could be ruling the world, you and I—but you threw it all down the drain! You won't need your powers anymore, not where I'm sending you. And hopefully, we'll never have to see each other again." Romeo paused, his lips twisted into a spiteful smile. "But first, well... let me enjoy this."

He reached an arm out in her direction. His hand clenched into a fist, and he watched as a red electric current shot up her body, causing her almost as much pain as he had when he had taken her powers away.

He merely looked on as Xara was subjected to his cruel torture. She writhed in pain and had her eyes squeezed tightly shut, unable to do anything that would stop him. Then, just when she couldn't take it anymore, to the point of almost wishing for death, he finally dropped his hand and she collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Xara had fallen facing away from Romeo, and so it seemed he thought she was already unconscious when she was, in fact, still barely awake. "Oh, Xara," he sighed quietly, not realizing she could still hear him. "Why couldn't you have just joined me? It would have been so much easier for both of us that way..."

The pain caught up with her and she blacked out before she heard anything else.


	2. Chapter 2

The hard stone floor pressed against her cheek, the coldness of it waking her. Xara kept her eyes closed, not yet willing to submit to the harsh light. She couldn't remember what had happened. Why was she lying on the floor?

Then it rushed back to her, all the horrible things that had happened in such little time. She groaned, turning her head to the side; not wanting to even try to get up, not wanting to face anything else.

Xara heard the clicking noise of a pair of dress shoes marching briskly toward her as someone approached. "Get up." It was a man's voice, calm and authoritative. She couldn't tell the age of the speaker.

She struggled to sit up, but had barely begun to move before she was overcome by nausea. She had to stop moving and will the lightheadedness to go away.

"Get up," the voice repeated, harsher this time. When Xara didn't move, the man nudged her in her ribcage with the toe of his shoe. Pain flared up her side. She forced herself not to cry out.

"I said, get up!" The man prodded with his foot harder.

Xara collapsed again, unable to get up. Rolling onto her other side, she curled up and tried to block him out, hoping he would leave her alone. There were a few seconds of silence, and then the man gave a dissatisfied _tsk_ and exited, his shoes once again tapping rhythmically on the floor.

She closed her eyes, just wanting to forget everything and sleep, but that was simply impossible without a bed. When was the last time she had slept? It had been over a day for sure, maybe even two...

Slowly, bit by bit, she managed to sit up, successfully fighting the nausea. She was left only with a fierce headache that pounded relentlessly against the front of her skull.

They were two people—probably guards—standing on either side of the room with their backs to her. They wore armor and helmets with visors that came down over their face to protect their eyes. One of them looked female, from what Xara could tell, and the other was male. They each held weapons; stone swords. The man also had a scuffed shield decorated with what looked like some sort of amulet. They didn't seem to notice she was actually awake.

Standing unsteadily, she regained her balance and made her over to the guard with the shield as quietly as possible. She was less than two feet away when he sensed her presence, whirling around in surprise. Before he could do anything other than stare in shock, she made a fist and connected with the side of his head. The guard toppled over and lay still, knocked out.

The shield fell out of his hand and clanged against the floor, alerting the female guard. She spun towards them with a yelp, her sword shaking in her trembling hand. Perhaps she hadn't been expecting Xara to wake so soon. The guard took one step forward and immediately changed her mind, fleeing the room as she called for help on her walkie-talkie. "Backup!" she cried. "I need backup in Cell B—" Her pleas were silenced as she ran out and the door slammed shut behind her.

Xara stood in the middle of the room, trying to come up with an escape plan. It seemed the only way out was the door the guard had just used, but most likely there would be more sentries lined along what she assumed was the hallway outside.

She shook her head and strode towards the door. Better to try and get caught than stay put and never know if you could have made it out.

She was halfway there when the door burst open. Four guards rushed toward her. Glancing around, Xara knew her only chance of escape would be earned by fighting her way out. The odds of getting away were not very good at all, but she had to try anyway.

Two of the guards tried to restrain her by grabbing her arms, but she kicked one in his shin and punched the other in the stomach. She yanked herself free but was stopped by the other two. They were much stronger than Xara and they wrenched her arms behind her back and forced her onto her knees. Still, she struggled.

She fought furiously, successfully catching one of the guards in the face with her elbow. He stumbled away, clutching his nose. Then the door swung open, and, flanked by three _more_ guards, the man from before hurried in. His shoes clicked frantically as he approached.

With this many reinforcements there was no way she could take them all out. But she was determined not to give up anyway.

The man must have realized this too and ordered, "Knock her out!"

Stars exploded inside her head.

She lifted her head groggily, her vision blurred. She was sitting in a straight-backed chair in a large room that resembled an office. Her hands were tied behind her back and her feet were bound tightly to the legs of the chair. She let out an involuntary moan as her splitting headache returned.

A person stood with their back to her, gazing out of a large window. There wasn't much to see outside. Beyond the window, there was only a small courtyard bathed in darkness. A few people milled around, kicking rocks or simply staring at the ground, while several guards armed with swords watched carefully.

Upon her return to consciousness, the person turned around. "You're awake," he observed. It was the man with the clicking shoes.

Xara could finally get a good look at him. He seemed somewhat young, maybe her age, maybe a few years younger. One of his eyes was covered by a gold monocle, and the other was the color of gray slate. The man was bald, though it looked like his hair had been shaven rather than having fallen out. He wore an outfit that reminded her of a military official, without the medals.

"What is this place? Where—who are you?" Xara asked, shifting around uncomfortably as the ropes from her bonds cut into her wrists.

The man walked forward. "Welcome to the Sunshine Institute. A pris—er, _reformatory_ for people who go around causing trouble and making things difficult for the rest of the world. Such as yourself." He paused, flicking an invisible piece of dust off of his jacket. "And as for me? You can call me the Warden."

"What am I—" she began, but was cut off as he held up a hand.

The Warden walked over to a wooden chest sitting in the corner of the room and pulled out a stack of papers secured with a large paper clip. He pulled up a chair on the other side of the desk she sat in front of. Reading in a slightly monotonous voice, he went through the documents. "This signed and approved by the mighty Admin—"

" _The Admin_?" she scoffed in disbelief at the title Romeo had chosen for himself. " _That's_ what that idiot's calling himself now?" She shook her head in disgust, eyes flashing in annoyance. "He always was full of it."

"Now, that's no way to talk of our creator! He's the whole reason we're here; in fact, we're indebted to him. It should be an honor to be recognized by him!" the Warden chastised.

"You—he—he— _augh_!" She was so angry she couldn't form a sentence. This man was talking about Romeo like he was some sort of hero, a god even. But she knew the real truth. He was nothing more than a heartless human with glorified superpowers.

The Warden shot her a look of disdain as he returned to flipping through the papers. "Your name is Xara?" he asked a minute or so later.

After a moment's pause she answered with a glare, "Yes."

He consulted the papers once again. "The Admin has given orders for the changing of several things concerning you, the first being that you are to be addressed only as Prisoner X from now on."

She couldn't believe her ears. Romeo couldn't do this to her, change her name like it was nothing important and go on pretending like everything was normal. The audacity of it!

"The second is that you are to stay here and behave. He said especially to watch you; you've never been one for following instructions. You will act like a remorseful pr—guest—and will not go around causing trouble. You will remain silent and refrain from spreading rumors about the Admin or anyone else. Do you understand, Prisoner X?"

So Romeo thought she would possibly spread rumors about him. _He_ _deserves_ _to_ _worry_ , she thought. She fought to keep a smirk off her face.

"Do you understand?" the Warden repeated, leaning across the desk.

With narrowed eyes, Xara answered again, "Yes."

"Wonderful." He waved a hand, beckoning to a guard that she hadn't even realized was there. "Take her to the Mush Room."

The guard complied, seizing her roughly by her upper arm. She tried to jerk away, but his grip was strong. "Follow me."

He led her down a maze of hallways, past jail cells both empty and full. People dressed in orange jumpsuits similar to hers sat around numbly, fiddling with dirt blocks or staring at the floor. She was marched past several other people with their arms behind their backs or in handcuffs, most likely prisoners. Like her.

Xara knew she would have to find a way to escape. She wouldn't look down and accept this as her fate. No. She wouldn't let Romeo do this to her.

She yanked her arm away and took off, sprinting down the hallways. Guards ran after her, shouting for help through their radios. Her footsteps pounded against the hard concrete floor.

"Get back here!" someone yelled. An arrow flew past her. Were they _shooting_ at her now?

Her answer came in the form of four more arrows flying toward her. One of them came so close it snagged a loose thread on her outfit as it whistled by dangerously.

Suddenly, there was a loud _pop_ , and a person appeared right in front of her. Xara stopped short. The barrage of arrows abruptly ceased behind her, bows clattering to the floor as the guards dropped everything—literally—and stood at attention.

It was Romeo.

"Causing trouble already, Xara?" He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Only three days, and you've already had two failed escape attempts? I really thought you'd have adjusted by now. Accepted that this is the way things are going to be."

That stupid, arrogant smile of his! It was infuriating.

She took a deep breath, her eyes darting around, trying to sense even the smallest chance of escape. But Romeo stood right in the way. And even if she did manage to push past, he could simply teleport in front of her again.

She stifled a groan. If only she still had her powers...

He saw her annoyance and laughed, sending a chill up her spine. How could he be the same playful, caring person she had known years before? Now he was nothing but a callous dictator and a traitor to their friendship.

Something to the left caught her eye. Someone had carelessly left a wooden sword lying against the wall. Knowing full well that the flimsy weapon wouldn't inflict barely any damage, she snatched it up anyway and charged toward Romeo, hoping that he would be too startled to do anything but let her pass.

"What are you—?!" Romeo teleported away just as she would have reached him. As she whirled around to see where he went, her sword vanished and he re-appeared in front of her.

"What... was... _that_?" he asked incredulously, taking a step forward. "Were you really expecting—did you really think that would work?"

She backed up as he came closer. "You run at me with a sword, a _wooden_ sword no less, and expect that to do anything?" Romeo continued.

Her back hit the wall; she couldn't move any further away.

"This sort of behavior will _not_ be tolerated here." He was so close to her that she could smell his familiar cinnamon-scented cologne. "You will stay here, you will behave, and you will not attempt any form of escape whatsoever or there _will_ be consequences. Do you understand?" He leaned forward even more and put his hands on the wall on either side of her, trapping her against the wall.

Staying silent, Xara turned her head away in defiance.

He reached out and lifted her chin towards him, forcing her to look at him. She recoiled from his cold touch.

" _Do you understand, Prisoner X_?" Romeo repeated. Somehow, although he used the exact same words the Warden had said, it was different coming from him. Worse.

Still, she kept her resolve. She and Romeo glared at each other for a long moment. Then he released her and stepped away. She kept her back pressed against the wall, staying as far as possible away from him. Xara couldn't believe that he had ever been one of her best friends, and quite possibly something even more. Everything had changed. Perhaps it had started before that fateful day in the tower. Perhaps it had begun even before that, when they left the cabin, and she and Fred had chosen to ignore it.

Romeo's face displayed no emotion, but his eyes betrayed his thoughts. Xara saw pride, annoyance, and anger, but she also caught a glimpse of something that looked quite like sorrow.

"W—"

"Stop," he said, holding up a hand and turning away. "Stop. Listen closely. I want nothing to do with you. I don't want to hear you speak, and I don't even want to have to look at your face. _I_ _never_ _want_ _to_ _see_ _you_ _again_."

His words hit her like a thousand bullets ripping through her heart at once. She, too, turned away so he couldn't see the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over. "Fine," Xara responded, her voice hardening. "I hope I never have to see you again, either."

"Good." With that, he teleported away, leaving her standing shakily in the darkened hallway.

She sank to the ground. Romeo, who had been one of the two people she trusted and cared for the most, now had said he never wanted to have to look at her again. And she had responded likewise.

Xara was faintly aware that several guards were approaching angrily. She dropped her head into her hands and closed her eyes, trying to shut out the world.

* * *

 **Quick note: I lied. Originally this story was only going to be published in two parts, but I got carried away while writing and now there's a part three that will be published soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks passed. Xara had been relocated to a different cell deeper in the prison after four more failed escape attempts. She was to be let out under no circumstances, Warden's orders. A different guard every time brought her a cold, half-empty bowl of soup once a day. Most of the time it sat untouched by the bars of her cell.

It was always dark; the only light came from the lava-filled conduits that snaked around the room. She could sometimes hear spiders crawling around the high ceiling.

There was nothing she could do. She couldn't even fall asleep, not without a bed. Her time was spent staring listlessly at the wall or gazing out into space. She suspected her sanity was slowly slipping away.

She started refusing to eat, ignoring the guards when they came with the food. She curled up in the corner of the room, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. Xara stayed hours in the same position before standing up, only to move to the other side of the cramped cell.

Four more days went by without her eating. She grew weaker by the hour. The one thing she wanted most was the comfort and escape of sleep, which was one of the many, many things she couldn't have.

Time passed in chunks, one day seeming to pass by in a second, another one taking an eternity. Her head was constantly swimming and she could barely stand now. The shock of losing her powers and the effects of hunger were starting to take a heavy toll on her.

Long after she had completely lost track of time, the guards stopped coming with food. She couldn't have eaten if she wanted to. She didn't care anymore, though. She was starting to wish even more that Romeo had killed her back by the tower on the day of the fight. Death would be better than this.

If they were trying to break her, they had succeeded.

Xara tried to stand up one day, thinking she had heard a noise from far off; some sort of scuffle. She wanted to know what was happening; if they were finally coming to finish her off. But before she took two steps, the room tilted violently and she plunged into blackness.

* * *

Romeo set off at a brisk walk down the halls. He was visiting the prison for the first time in almost three weeks, since his "argument" with Xara. If you could call if that. It was more like the two of them had told the other they hated them. Now he wasn't sure if he regretted it or not. His feelings were conflicted.

He had headed down to check on the Warden; see how he was doing with the newfound responsibility of running the Institute. He was going to stop by and hopefully discreetly look over Xara. It would be better if she didn't know he was there.

He walked down the hallways that led deeper into the prison. The silence was almost unnerving as Romeo ventured farther. By the time he made it to Xara's cell block, he had passed twelve fully armed guards and three tripwires. Clearly, they were taking no chances in letting her escape.

He reached the front of her cell. Looking through the iron bars, he was startled to see her lying completely still beside the wall.

He wasn't sure if he should go in and check on her or not. She wasn't moving at all, which worried him almost. But then again, he wasn't supposed to care about her.

Right?

Making his mind up, he teleported into the cell and walked over to her. "Xara. Get up." Maybe using her real name would prompt her to acknowledge him.

He waited a moment but received no response. She couldn't—no, that was impossible. She was probably just ignoring him; still angry. After all, she wasn't one to forgive easily.

Romeo reached down and touched her shoulder. She didn't even flinch. Growing uneasy, he kneeled beside her and rolled her onto her side, revealing her face. Her eyes were closed and her lips were slightly parted. A strand of dark purple hair had come loose from her already-messy hairstyle, falling across her face.

What had happened?

He supposed she had fainted from lack of food and hit her head as she fell. Sighing, Romeo moved away. _You don't care about her,_ he reminded himself. _She isn't worth worrying about. You don't care what happens to her._

Even so, he had to force himself to move away from her. He was fighting a battle inside his own mind, and he was losing.

She gave a barely audible groan, her eyelashes fluttering twice before closing again. She was coming to. He had to leave before she woke completely and saw him.

"I made a mistake, all right?" he said quietly, almost in a whisper. "Killing... Fred... imprisoning you... and now I don't know how to fix it." He looked away. "Maybe I can't fix it. Maybe there's nothing I could ever do that would fix any of this. But it's only been three weeks, and I—I miss it. The three of us. I wish I could take it back. Everything I've done."

Maybe it all would have been easier if he had killed her before. He wouldn't have to deal with this horrible, gnawing guilt that seemed to eat away at him, slowly, painfully.

Romeo knew one thing for sure, though. Never again would he allow himself to become so close to someone that he wouldn't be able to end them in an instant. Never again.

He took one last look at Xara, his one friend that surely hated him, surely wanted him to go as far away from her as he could get and die there and never come back. He closed his eyes and imagined happier times, and teleported away just as her eyes blinked open.

* * *

Putting a hand to her head, Xara sat up slowly. She swore she had heard someone talking, but there was no one in the cell except her.

She pulled herself up, her spirit now somehow revived. _Enough with the pity party,_ she told herself. _You've had enough time to feel sorry for yourself. Now get up and find a way out._

It had been a mistake to refuse to eat; the lack of food had weakened her body considerably. Now even standing and moving around the tiny cell took much more effort than before. So instead of breaking out immediately and making up a plan as she went, she was forced to conserve her energy and take it slow.

She made her way to the iron bars blocking her escape, putting a hand against the wall to steady herself and keep her balance. The lock on the door wasn't intricate; in fact it was quite simple-looking. She could easily pick the lock and be on her way. Years of inventing and engineering had served her well. She knew how the mechanics in all of those kinds of things worked.

She eased open the heavy door, cringing as the hinges squeaked. She peered into the deserted hallway and immediately felt a rush of freedom as she took the first step out. She had barely had any room to move around in the cramped cell.

The fresh air and warmer temperature already beginning to strengthen her, Xara set off at a brisk pace to the end of the hall. There were no guards in sight, which was a bit strange. They couldn't all have been called off duty at—

She stopped abruptly. There was a patrol of three or four heading straight towards her. Why so many? Usually there was only one at a time. Perhaps Romeo had upped security.

The guards were whispering amongst themselves as they strolled along. "No way! I am not taking her cell. I did last time, and look what happened!" exclaimed one. With a start, she realized they must have been talking about her. Yes, that guard who had protested a moment before was the same one that had been on guard in her cell when she had first arrived, the one who had run away after seeing what Xara had done to the other one.

"Well, she's going to escape again and somebody's going to get demoted if no one is on watch!" whispered another.

They were coming closer. She scanned the long hallway for any way to run or hide. The only plausible thing that presented itself was an unlocked cell door, presumably unoccupied. The locking mechanism looked much more complex on this cell. What if it shut and trapped her inside, and she couldn't get out?

It was a chance she'd have to take. Xara dove inside just as the patrol passed.

A shaft of almost-green fluorescent lighting spilled onto the floor, inches away from where she sat huddled against the wall. She prayed it wouldn't illuminate her face and that the guards wouldn't pay much attention to the room.

The footsteps stopped suddenly. She drew her legs closer to her body, hoping the patrol would just leave.

"Hey, why's this door open?" asked a voice. The person shuffled over and shut the door, not bothering to actually look inside the cell. Xara flinched as the metal clicked into place, shutting her inside in complete darkness. Then the footsteps resumed and the guards left, their voices fading as they marched down the hallway.

Once she was sure they had gone, she stood up. What if the door had locked? What if she was trapped? What if she couldn't get out?

She was almost hyperventilating now, but forced herself to calm down. _At least try the door first, genius,_ she scolded herself, shaking her head.

She gave the heavy metal frame a push and to her relief, it immediately swung outward. Stepping into the light, she took off at a run.

After trying various hallways, she reached two large double doors that opened to a set of stairs leading to what she assumed was the courtyard. Two guards who were probably supposed to be on duty were leaned against the wall, either sleeping or at least trying to. So focused on escape, she didn't notice them until they had already spotted her.

"Hey!" one shouted, jumping to her feet. "No one is— _oh, my Notch!_ Is that—?!"

Her comrade leapt up, brandishing his sword in the air groggily, still half-asleep. "Don't come any closer—stop right there!"

Xara ignored them, ducking as she ran past. The sword grazed her shoulder as she slammed into the door, throwing it open, and sprinted up the steps. The two guards chased after her, yelling threats and waving their weapons. They were soon joined by more guards responding to their calls of help.

What lay past the stairs, though, was not another courtyard. She stopped and stared in dismay at the towering obsidian walls. "It's a maze?!" she shouted in frustration. "A freaking _maze_?!"

The guards' shouts sounded louder. They were catching up. With no other choice, she turned and darted into the maze.

* * *

Left turn, left turn, right turn, straight ahead, left turn... the phrases seemed to repeat in succession with her rapid heartbeat. She couldn't let them catch her. She would find a way back to the Oasis, or even anywhere familiar in her world. If only she could get out of this stupid, _stupid_ prison—

Dead end. She cursed mentally and started to backtrack to the last turn, but no sooner than she had taken a few steps she found herself facing the point of an arrow pulled taut on the string, ready to be fired.

"Put your hands where we can see them and don't move, or we won't hesitate to shoot," a voice commanded. Clenching her teeth tightly, Xara slowly did as told.

The guards escorted her back to the claustrophobia-inducing cell. It took all four of them to force her into a straitjacket and mask. It would have taken more, she thought with pride, if she had been struggling harder. She had almost _let_ them get away with it, because what they didn't know was that from the moment they had re-captured her, she had been plotting another escape attempt for that night. Now that she knew the way to the doors, getting out would be one step easier. She would keep fighting until the moment she died, if need be. She promised herself she would never give up.

She swore she would find Romeo. Even if it took a hundred years. Even if she never got any sleep again.

She _would_ get her revenge.

* * *

 **And there you have it: the end of the third and final chapter. I apologize for the extremely long wait; I _did not_ forget about this story, it's just that I've been so busy, between schoolwork picking up this semester, family stuff, sickness, and the never-ending weekly rotation of torture by math tests.**

 **I hadn't even logged in to FFN until yesterday, and then I saw a guest review asking where the last chapter was (whoever you are, thank you for the reminder). Well, now you've read it, and I hope it met your expectations.**

 **On Wattpad, I'll eventually post this story, but with an added bonus: during the little free time I've gotten since January, I've spent my time writing a full story for the Admins; a sort of background story that explains everything from the beginning, up until the present. I've incorporated these three chapters into that bigger one, which I will get up whenever I can. My account name there is Squid_Pie96.**

 **Thank you for reading, and keep an eye out for anything new!**


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